Chapter 26
“As you can see, the building has good features. The lobby, while small, is impeccable.”
Riley managed to smile at the enthusiastic realtor, Dan Brown, as they walked through the lobby of a giant, towering condo. It was the last thing she wanted to be doing just then; she had no desire to look for or live in an expensive apartment in the big city, but she also had no idea how to get out of it. Just like always, her future seemed to be set in stone, cementing her in place.
She’d tried it, her little adventure. It was not at all what her parents wanted for her, and it hadn’t worked out, but she’d tried. She’d learned her lesson, and she wouldn’t oppose them again. She just didn’t have it in her to be a rebel, even if she did have a cause.
As they stepped into the elevator, Dan said, “As you can see, you would have a private entry. These doors actually open to the apartment, and the tenant who occupies the penthouse has a separate elevator from the tenants on lower floors.” He ran one hand down the burled walnut and nodded smugly. “Privacy is guaranteed, as is the best security we can offer.”
“How wonderful,” she recited robotically, with zero enthusiasm in her heart or words. She had been unable to sleep all night, and she was far too tired to jump through all the hoops of proper protocol, but she was also not willing to refuse her father’s wishes again. She had to spend her money somewhere, and a place of her own would have some benefits, or at least she hoped so. Home is where the heart is, she thought. Her heart certainly wasn’t there, and it would never be home to her, but at least it would be hers.
After the monotonous tour, they stepped out to the sidewalk, and Dan asked, “Well? Are you impressed?”
Riley managed to summon a smile that the realtor quickly returned. “I’ve got a lot to think about. Let me consider what we looked at today, and I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know if I want one of these or would like to look elsewhere,” she said.
Dan nodded eagerly, smelling money in the water. “Perfect. Have a good day, Miss Teeter.”
“I will.” She cast an eye down the street and was glad to see she’d shaken the stupid bodyguards, though it was only because Dan picked her up in his car to take her house-hunting. “I think I’m gonna go visit Versace, so there’s no need for you to drive me home. I can call for our car when I’m ready.”
Dan gave her a wide smile and walked away.
Riley walked in the direction of the famous shop for a moment, then quickly sidestepped and instead journeyed toward the small park nearby. She wasn’t interested in maxing out her credit card again. She really just wanted to be alone and think, and she couldn’t stand the sight of the four walls of her bedroom anymore. She hoped sitting on a bench for a while in the fresh air, with all the people walking by, would make her feel more at home. Unfortunately, it proved an unfruitful attempt; absorbing the flavors and vibes of the city only reinforced her longing to be anywhere but there.
No, not anywhere. I want to be…with him, with Gray, she finally admitted to herself when she saw a happy couple walking by. “Could you be any more of a glutton for punishment?” she muttered.
The old man sitting on the bench next to her gave her a stern look over the top of his newspaper, clearly dismayed at what he must have perceived was an attempt to start a conversation.
That was another thing she disliked about the city. Nobody spoke unless they had to. In Florida, everyone had nodded or said hi or something. The world there was filled with tiny little encounters and conversations, and she missed that almost as much as she missed the warm water she’d never thought she would like, much less love to swim in.
She got up and started walking. The streets were jam-packed with pedestrian traffic, and the roads were really no different, full of noisy, honking cars with passengers and drivers shouting curses and sticking their middle fingers out their windows. She walked faster through that concrete and neon jungle, trying to not think at all, but just as it had all night long, her mind insisted on fixating on Gray and their horrible ending.
She reached her building, and her feet halted.
Her breath caught when she saw thought she saw Gray standing a short distance away, leaning against the building and looking down at his phone.
Then she heard his ringtone, the one she couldn’t bear to delete yet. Tears sprang into her eyes, and she swallowed hard. She resisted the urge to run to him, and calmly walked up as he turned his head, gazing in the opposite direction. “Gray? What’re you doing here?”
He turned his head to look at her and pulled the phone away from his ear. “I-I left the resort,” he said, with a hopeful light dancing in his eyes. “Dad—Jon—sold the resort.”
“Okay…”
“Look, Riley, I gotta tell you that I’m dead broke. I won’t see a dime from the sale of that place. I’m staying in a hostel, and I’ve got no idea what I’m gonna do for a paycheck, but I wanna live somewhere warm and tropical and… Hell, I’ll live wherever, honestly, as long as it’s with you.”
“Gray, I—” she tried to cut in, but the words continued to spill out of him.
“I’m so sorry, Riley. Again. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t even figure out how to confess. I know I’m a lousy human being who never shoulda let you go. I let my pride get in the way down there, and I… Well, I’m just sorry, that’s all.”
Riley gawked at him for a moment, then did what she wished she had done in the airport. Without a second thought, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him so hard she felt like her lips were going to bruise. It hurt, but it hurt in the very best of ways.
They only broke away from the kiss when an elderly woman walked by and snarled something under her breath.
She stared up at Gray. “How… I mean, how did you get here?”
“I flew, and boy are my arms tired,” he said. His smile was ready, but there were lines of fatigue on his face. “I’m so sorry, Riley. I mean it.”
“Me, too. I should’ve told you I was going to talk to your dad. I had hoped to surprise you. I didn’t know…” she shrugged, “I didn’t know you had a lot of crap on your shoulders as well. We’re both kind of a mess, aren’t we?”
“Sometimes messes are good.” He gave her a hopeful smile.
“Your dad… Jon… he kicked you out and didn’t offer you a dime?”
“I’m okay with him not giving me anything. I mean, I could probably fight him for something, but what’s the point? He’ll never bend on it, because he’s a greedy son-of-a-bitch. As for the rest of it, I don’t need him to pretend to love me anymore. I don’t need him, or that resort, in order to feel like I belong someplace in the world.”
“No?” she asked, feeling hope swell within her.
“No.” He held her close. “I’ve got you, Riley, and I know you love me. That’s all I need. I hope that’s all you need, too, because I don’t have anything else to give you. Is it enough?”
“Your love is more than enough, Gray.” She stepped back from him and took a long, deep breath. “The question is, where do we go from here? I hate it here, even though I never realized it before. I figured it out when I came back. I want the same things you want, all that warm sand and salt water and sunshine. I want anything and everything but this,” she said, skimming her hand upward at the tiptop of a skyscraper.
“How do you feel about living on an island?”
“I’d love it, Skipper,” she said with a grin.
He took her hand. “Well, do we run for it or just stroll away casually so they don’t suspect what we’re up to?”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Riley stepped into the street and held up a hand.
A cab screeched to a stop.
She glanced over at the doorman of her building and gave him a wave to indicate that she no longer required his assistance. “Let’s start by getting your stuff out of that hostel and booking a hotel. Then we can order room service, grab a map, and find the place where we want to be in this world.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said, “but there’s a problem.”
“What?”
“I kinda owe you Chinese.”
She laughed. “This is New York City, Gray. I’m sure we can have them deliver whatever we want.”
“All right,” he said, then paused again. “There’s another problem, though.”
“What?”
“I’m broke. I mean, literally, completely broke. I used most my money to fly here. I have to find a job.”
“I have money. We can use that for now.”
“I can’t take your money. You need to know that.”
“I know. You were rather, uh…emphatic about that in fact. Now c’mon,” she said, moving toward the cab. “Let me take care of you. New York is my resort.”
Two hours later the two of them were standing in front of a map of the world, which they’d picked up at a local tourist hut and pinned to the wall of the hotel room.
“Who knew there were so many sunny places to go?” Riley said with a laugh. “Look. There’s actually a place in Bulgaria called Sunny Beach. I don’t remember them teaching us that in geography.”
“I don’t speak, uh…Bulgarian,” Gray said, taking her hand. “Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s let fate decide, shall we?”
“How?”
“You ever played Pin the Tail on the Donkey?”
“Yeah, of course. I personally have a lot of experience with jackasses…and being one, as of late,” he joked.
After a chuckle, she said, “Good. Let’s just close our eyes, spin around a couple times, and pick a spot.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“You’ve got your passport, right?”
“Never leave home without it,” he said, grinning.
“Good.” Her eyes went back to the map. “I’m so excited.”
She was actually far more excited than she could even put into words. This was not just rebellion; it was outright taking control of her own life. Something had changed in Gray yet again, and that only made it easier to run off with him. The anger that always lurked in his eyes was gone. He’d completely turned his back on his family and, in doing so, had freed himself from the hurt and rage they had always conjured up in him. Both of them were ready to take life by the horns, and it was exhilarating to think they were going to do it together.
She let out a long breath. “What will we do when we get there?”
He dropped a kiss on her temple. “Well, I’ll get a job, and you can do whatever makes you happy.”
“Well, doing you makes me happy,” she said, blushing a bit.
“Likewise, but that wasn’t quite what I meant,” he said, “though I’m sure we’ll do plenty of it.”
Her breath trembled in and out of her throat. “You do know we’re crazy as hell for doing things this way, right?”
“I do…and I love it.” He winked at her. “I also think it’s the best way for us to really just get away. Who knows? Maybe we can find a little place to turn into a bed-and-breakfast, and you can decorate the rooms with those silly teacups and quilts and junk old people and newlyweds get all gushy over, or maybe I’ll get a boat and take people out on charter tours.”
“I’m not sure about that, Captain. You might need a refresher course in anchor-dropping,” she taunted.
“Very funny. We could start a bar or open a shop or…do anything at all really, whatever we want.”
“You’re right,” she finally said, beaming. “Okay, no peeking now. Close your eyes real tight.”
They both closed their eyes and held hands, then just stood there, facing the map and breathing deeply, knowing the point of their fingers was about to determine their future. Riley felt Gray lift his hand, and she raised her free hand as well. It was the most insane way to start a life, but for them, it seemed like the only way to do it right.
Simultaneously, their fingers met the map. When they opened their eyes, they were surprised to see just how close together their fingertips were.
Riley peered closely at the map, and a whoop of laughter burst from her lips. “I guess Fate has spoken then.”
Gray looked at the map, then into her face, and laughter rumbled up from his chest. “It did, and who are we to mess with that?”
He caught her up in his arms as they stared at their fateful choice, neither speaking since no further words were necessary. Fate had spoken, in more ways than one, and Riley felt that same giddy sense of freedom she’d felt floating along in the ocean with him beside her. Among all the gray concrete and brick and pavement of New York, the Gray who held her in his arms suddenly brought color back to her life.